Where does anyone's story start but with their family. My mother had been an art student and so encouraged her kids to draw as soon as they could hold a pencil. Being the youngest I learned from the superior pencil-wielding abilities of my elder siblings. We moved to Malta for a few years, with no TV, so drawing became our main indoor passtime. When I was five I won first prize for a horse made out of matchsticks and spuds.
I was on my way.

Later, back in England, I did an Art & Design Foundation course at Scarborough Tech. This was a life-changing year. Under the wing of an excellent tutor called Malcolm Byrne I learned more than just technique.
I had a very different experience when I studied art at teacher training college in Newcastle. Here I learned that to "get on" you need to become fluent in PHArt. Not all education is good education. I quit.
 

I went back home to Scarborough and worked as a photographer. In slack periods I was allowed in the company darkroom where I resumed the experimental work I had started at Scarborough Tech.
One of the ideas I re-discovered was that by projecting a slide of straight lines on a model you could create an amazing woodgrain effect. Until this point all the 3-D work I'd done was in clay or plaster. These were easy enough to shape, but I'd never found a finish that inspired me. Then, when I saw this series of photos it just hit me. Wood! Try wood. I was soon hooked..

Twenty years ago I moved to north London where I started a new career in the computer industry, but I didn't stop creating in my spare time. For years I laboured with my DIY box's craft knife, file and chisel. I managed some quite nice work and people would be most complementary - "You really should sell these". Yeah I know, but.... with each piece taking so long, I couldnt possibly put a sensible price on them.
Then a couple of years ago, while browsing the web I discovered the wonderful world of chainsaws and specialist woodcarving tools. What would have taken a month could now be done in a week. Speed definitly encourages experimentation - if an idea doesn't work out, what the heck, scrap it and start a new one. This is incredibly liberating.

Now that the speed of the process has been dramatically improved, it has at last become viable to offer pieces for sale, and to take on commissions. Which brings us right to the present, and one of the reasons for this website's creation.